My First Christmas Overseas

So I’ve already opened my presents, and eaten my christmas dinner, and it’s only 2pm on Christmas Day. This is because, for once, the Chileans celebrate something early. Last night, on Christmas Eve, we went to mass at 10pm, which lasted until 11.30pm. Before we went to mass, the girls left Santa a bowl of biscuits and a glass of coke. Then, when we returned home, Santa Claus had been, drank the coke, eaten some of the biscuits, and most importantly delivered the presents!

Here in Chile, most children only get one present from Santa Claus, it’s not like in the UK where all the kids are forever wanting more things to open. Also, the Chileans open their presents with a lot of delicacy, and care… rather than the ripping method I’m used to. So we sat and watched the children open their My Little Pony aeroplane, and their Barbie car. Me and Rachel recieved Mapuche earrings, a diary and a scooby keyring (scooby as in the scooby strings).

Then, after we’d opened the presents, it was time to sit down for our christmas dinner at 1am. We ate roast beef, a spicy sausage, mashed potato in balls, with salad of green beans, peas and sweetcorn in mayonaise and lemon juice (not altogether). It was super rico, but at 1am I felt more tired than hungry.

I managed to stay awake for a bit longer, before going to bed at 2am. I woke up this morning at 11.20am (Mum would normally have woken me up at 9am on xmas morning) and we had a late breakfast around 12pm.

Our breakfast was relatively healthy, pan de pascua (xmas cake without the icing and marzipan), biscuits and scrambled eggs on bread. I had warm chocolate milk with oats too. And so now, it doesn’t feel xmassy, there’s nothing to look forward to really either. On the tv are cartoons, all with tons of snow on, but here it’s warm!!

It was a really surreal xmas, cos aswell Chileans don’t send xmas cards. I still haven’t recieved my presents from home (6 day delivery, whatever). I prefer xmas at home, with roast turkey, roast potatoes, stuffing, gravy (they don’t have gravy in Chile…I don’t even like gravy that much, but I would be nice to have the option), swede, parsnips, sausage in bacon, CARROTS (I miss boiled carrots). And of course, opening crackers, reading the silly jokes, and wearing the pathetic xmas hats.

But I did have a lovely xmas, and I was really happy to share it with a family as nice as this one.